Out of the Depths

Everyone was shouting. Trudy couldn’t use both hands to halt the spill because she was still holding the bowl of mashed potatoes. Her only recourse was to press the small pitcher against her chest and wait for rescue. Thankfully, the discussion in the kitchen had delayed the meal long enough to cool and thicken the gravy.

Cody quickly tucked one crutch under his arm and reached for the potatoes. “Here. Give me that.”

“Gladly.”

“Are you all right?”

She answered without looking at him. Now that she had a free hand she was focused on wiping globs of gravy off her bodice and catching them without dripping on the carpet. The task was daunting as well as disgustingly messy. “I’ve been better,” she said wryly. “How about you?”

“Never touched me. I hope that dress isn’t a favorite.”

“Actually, it was.” His undertone of mirth caused her to pause and look up. Amazingly, the corners of his mouth were starting to twitch into a smile. “I thought it matched my eyes.”

“Only if they’re part brown,” Cody replied. He inclined his head to study her more closely. “They are kind of brown, with specks of green and maybe a little blue. The right one looks irritated. Did you burn it just now?”

Trudy Lynn made a face. Considering the state she was already in there was no use keeping up any pretense of poise or refinement. “No. The gravy wasn’t that hot. If you must know, I jabbed myself in the eye with a mascara brush when I was getting ready to come over here.”

“Are you always this accident-prone?”

“Not usually. I did want to be entertaining tonight, though. How am I doing?”

“Pretty good, actually.”

The humor in Cody’s voice reflected his smile and warmed her heart. “Glad to hear it.” Her gaze briefly passed over the others and returned to him. “I’m sorry I made such a mess. If everyone will please excuse me, I think I’ll go see if I can salvage my dignity—and my dress.”

Her hostess had dashed to the kitchen for a handful of paper towels and was thrusting them at her. “Here. Blot.”

Trudy Lynn shook her head. “It’s too late for that. Just stand back so I can make a run for it before I start dripping on your floor.”

“I’m not worried about the carpet,” Becky said. “I’m worried about you. Want me to come help you get cleaned up?”

“No. Stay with your guests. And please don’t wait dinner for me. The way my clothes feel right now I’ll probably give up and go home anyway.”

“And miss my sister’s infamous cooking?” Cody asked, still smiling. “They tell me she’s been working on this meal all day.”

“I know. I can’t apologize enough for being such a klutz.” Starting to turn away she paused and stared directly at Cody. Careful to deliver her remarks with a straight face she added, “Even if my dress was okay I probably wouldn’t stay to eat. I don’t much care for roast beef and mashed potatoes without lots of gravy.”

She could hear him chuckling softly as she hurried from the room. Good. At least one positive thing had come out of the worst social disaster of her life.

Reaching the guest bathroom on the ground floor, Trudy Lynn heard a ruckus behind her. Poor Becky. It sounded as if there was more trouble brewing.

She was turning the knob to open the closed bathroom door when Cody’s strong, deep voice rose above the clamor.

“No!” he shouted. “Don’t open that door!”

What a strange thing to shout, Trudy Lynn mused. She knew Cody couldn’t be yelling at her. All the guests and their hosts were accounted for in the other room, so she certainly wouldn’t be intruding on anyone. The sooner she got her dress rinsed out and could assess the damage, the happier she’d be.

An odd clumping sound echoed in the hallway. Ignoring it, she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. Her eyes widened. Her breath caught. She wasn’t alone.

An animal as big and furry as a black bear was napping on the floor. Before she could decide what to do, the creature opened its warm brown eyes, saw her, yawned and began to pant.

“You’re a dog?” Trudy whispered. Her voice rose as she realized she was right. “You’re a dog. What a relief!”

The animal apparently took her words as an invitation. It leaped to its feet with a lot more agility than she’d imagined anything that size could possess and in one lumbering, tail-wagging stride was crowding against her, clearly begging for attention.

Deciding to assert authority before the situation got out of control, she said, “Good boy. Settle down,” and tried to push the overly affectionate canine away.

Using her hands was a mistake. The dog took one whiff of the traces of gravy on her fingers and proceeded to lick them with a pink tongue as wide as her palm.

Trudy giggled. “Hey, that tickles.”

To her delight, the dog cocked its head and looked up at her as if it were in on the joke. Its nostrils twitched, sniffing the air. “Oh, no. Not the dress,” she said firmly. “If you want any more gravy you’ll have to wait till I bring you some in a dish.”

The impromptu training session was going quite well until Cody banged on the door.

“What?” Trudy Lynn called.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

“Stand back. I’m coming in.”

The sound of his voice had already excited the dog so much it was spinning in circles. When he burst through the door, it raised on its hind legs and put its broad front feet on Trudy Lynn’s shoulders, bringing their faces nose-to-nose.

She twisted away. “Phew! Dog breath. Down boy.”

“Sailor. Stop that.” Cody gave the dog’s collar a tug. It landed on all four feet with a soft thump.

Once again, Trudy Lynn held out her hands to her new canine buddy and let him lick her fingers. “He wasn’t hurting anything. We were getting along fine till you showed up and distracted him.”

“Nonsense. Sailor only listens to me. I took him to obedience school, but he’s been a lot harder to manage since I got hurt.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve probably been acting overly cautious and he’s sensing an opening to become the alpha dog. He’ll gladly be the boss if you let him.”

“You’re crazy. He knows I’m still in charge.” Cody tried to grab the dog’s collar again and was almost pulled off balance for his trouble. “Go on. Get out of here,” he told her gruffly. “I can handle this.”

“Oh really?” Forgetting her stained dress and disheveled appearance, Trudy Lynn faced him, hands fisted on her hips. “And who’s going to handle you when you wind up in a heap on the floor or break your leg all over again? It won’t be your dog’s fault if that happens. It’ll be yours.”

Sailor had left his arguing companions and was cavorting around the cramped room like a hamster in an exercise wheel. A very large hamster. In a very small wheel.

“Sailor. Get over here,” Cody demanded.

The dog looked at him as if to say, You’ve got to be kidding. I’m having too much fun.

Trudy Lynn stepped forward and calmly said, “Sailor?” She pointed to the floor at her feet. “Come here.” As soon as he obeyed she added, “Good boy. Sit.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Cody muttered.